Flash-light lamp.



No. 635,567. Patented Oct. 24, I899. G. R. MILLER.

FLASH LIGHT LAMP.

(Applicationfiled Jan. 80, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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ATENT GEORGE R. MILLER, OF'EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

FLASH-LIGHT LAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,567, dated October 24, 1899.

Application filed January 30, 1899. Serial No. 703,790- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residin g in the city of Easton, county of Northampton, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Flash-Light Lamps, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for exploding illuminating-powders, and especially to a lamp and accompanying devices for use in theatrical'performances and in flash-light photography.

I am aware that heretofore illuminating,- powder has been placed on a pan or receptacle and exploded by a flame directed against the powder by a blast from an air-pipe; but the arrangement of parts in my device is new and accomplishes new and useful results, and new features are added, so that my device is particularly well adapted for its purpose and contains marked advantages over all previous apparatus used for similar purposes.

The object of my invention is to provide a compact and satisfactory lamp for exploding illuminating-powders constructed so that it is readily portable and may be used in drafts and currents of air without fear of the powder becoming ignited except when intended.

My invention consists in the combination of a lamp, a wick-tube, and an air-tube having an opening near the top and on the side toward the wick, and a platform surrounding the wick-tube and air-tube and preferably on a level slightly below the opening in the airtube. The edges of the platform are preferably raised. Hinged to one side of the platform is a cover which when lowered fits on the platform. This cover is preferably lined with asbestos or similar material. There is an opening through the center of the cover corresponding to the opening in the platform through which the wick and air-tube project. An open chimney extends upward from the cover about the opening therein, so that when the lamp is lighted the cover may be closed and the flame may be surrounded and protected by the chimney.

Finally, my invention consists in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

The drawing is a side view of my device in elevation, the top part being shown in section.

A is the lamp-body.

B is the wick-tube.

O is the wick.

D is the flame, which is shown deflected upon the powder by the current from the airtube.

E is the air-tube, which is closely connected with the lamp-body and the wick-tube B.

e is the opening in the air-tube slightly above the top of the wick. Connected with the 'air-tube, preferably by means of a flexible tube, is a bulb for driving a blast of air or gas through the air-tube; but this bulb may be replaced by a pump or any other suitable means for forcing air or gas through the tube.

G is the platform, preferably circular and with raised edges 9 and an opening 9 at the center, through which project the Wick and the air-tube. The platform G is secured to a circular support, as H, or to posts extending upward from the lamp-body.

K is the cover, which is hinged to the platform, as shown at k, and may be raised or lowered by means of the thumb-piece k.

L is the chimney, extending upward from the cover K around an opening in the cover corresponding to the opening g in the platform.

The operation of my device is as follows: The powder to be ignited is placed upon the platform opposite the opening in the air-tube, as at M, and the wick is lighted. If the lamp is in a drafty place or is to be carried from place to place, the cover is closed, and the flame is thus confined within the chimney. When it is desired to ignite the powder, the cover is lifted and a current of air is driven through the air-tube and against the flame, deflecting the latter, so that it touches and ignites the powder. This cover may be used with suitable modification in form in any form of device where ignitable substances are placed upon platforms or open receptacles to be exploded by a flame driven upon the powder.

My device is particularly useful in amateur theatricals, where no elaborate means for burning colored lights are usually at hand,

and in flash-light photography. Its advan tages are apparent. Chief among them are the compactness of the device, owing to the fact that the air-tube is adjacent to the lampbody and the wick-tube, its portability, and its safety. The fact that the air-tube is adjacent to the wick-tube prevents any failure in igniting the powder when the air-current is sent through the tube against the flame, which failure is liable to occur in those devices where the air-tube is located a considerable distance away from the flame. The use of the cover enables the lamp to be suceessfully operated even in drafty places without fear of premature explosion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a lamp and wicktube with an air-tube adjacent to said wicktube and having an opening slightly above and toward the wick, and a platform for holding the substance to be heated or ignited connected with said lamp extending around the wick-tube and air-tube and having an opening through which the air-tube and the flame from the wick project, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of a lamp, awick-tube, an air-tube, a platform supported on the lamp, and a cover for said platform having a chimney extending upward from said cover about an opening therein corresponding to the opening in the platform for the air-tube and the flameysubstantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3'. In an apparatus for exploding illuminating-powders by means of a flame driven upon the powder by a current of air or gas, a platform for holding the powder, in combination with a cover fitting upon said platform and protecting the powder from the flame.

4. In the above-described apparatus for exploding illuminating-powders by means of a flame driven upon the powder by a current of air or gas, a platform surrounding the air-pipe, in combination with a cover fitting said platform and having an opening corresponding with the opening in the platform and a chimney extending upward from said cover around said opening therein, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

GEORGE R. MILLER. Witnesses:

WM. B. MARX,

D. M. PoRM. 

